Kurban Ait Mubarak Bolsyn!

(Happy Eid al-Adha)!

Beware the icicles my son...

Warning to foreigners: As temperatures fluctuate, icicles start to melt and may fall. Be sure to be walking somewhere else at the time.

Five fingers

Besh barmak (five fingers) is the Kazakh national dish. The name doesn't come from its content (!), but from the way its eaten - with your fingers from a common round plate, symbolising the equality of those eating it. A friend spent four hours cooking it for us, boling the horse meat and sausage, and preparing the sauce and pasta - delicious!

First snow in Almaty...

...time to crack out the fur coat and miniskirt combo?!